The Invisible Extinction

Friday, January 6 - Thursday, January 12, 2023

Q&A with directors Sarah Schenck and Steven Lawrence and Film participants Dr. Martin Blaser (Director of the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine) and Dr. Gloria Dominguez-Bello (Director of the New Jersey Institute for Food Nutrition and Health) following the 6:45pm show on Friday, January 6 and with directors Sarah Schenck and Steven Lawrence and Film participants Dr. Martin Blaser (Director of the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine), Dr.Gloria Dominguez-Bello (Director of the New Jersey Institute for Food Nutrition and Health) and Dr. Elizabeth Hohmann (Associate Professor, Infectious Diseases, Harvard University) moderated by Kate Lowenstein (Deputy Editor of Well, New York Times) following the 4pm show on Saturday, January 7! Additional Q&As with filmmakers following the 4pm show on Sunday, January 8 and the 6:45pm show on Wednesday, January 11!

THE INVISIBLE EXTINCTION spotlights the extraordinary work and charismatic personalities of renowned scientists Martin Blaser, author of best-selling Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibiotics Is Fueling Our Modern Plagues, and his partner in the lab and in life, Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello, as they endeavor to save our vanishing microbes that are essential for our survival.

The film joins them on this urgent quest from the USA to Venezuela, China, Israel, and Switzerland, showing us how the overuse of antibiotics, elective C-sections, and processed foods are driving the destruction of our inner ecology, which is happening even faster than climate change.  

As the Covid-19 pandemic hits, Blaser pivots to focus on how our microbes may help protect us from the virus and future pandemics, while Dominguez-Bello spearheads the creation of an international microbe vault to safeguard precious bugs that may help cure chronic illnesses.

  • Running Time 85 minutes
  • Format DCP
  • Distributor Abramorama
  • Director Steven Lawrence, Sarah Schenck
  • Producer Steven Lawrence, Sarah Schenck, Senionr producer: Russell Greene, Co-producer: Elijah Stevens
  • Editor Russell Greene
  • Accessibility Assistive Listening, T-Coil

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.